A Panther among Petals
by LemonSherbet
Summary: Grimmjow is running for his life-can he ever be safe?
1. Prologue

A/N: It's been a while hasn't it? Miss me? Anybody? Anybody? Well anyway I hope you like ths one... A friend of mine checked this for me so a huge thank you to her!

Warnings: Language, AU (In future chapters there will probably be fighting and yaoi but nothing really in the prologue- rated T for now)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach *goes and cries*

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

His legs burned. Muscles screaming out in pain. Laboured, heavy breaths. Still he ran on, more conscious of the men following him, hunting him, than the state his body was in. He was a survivor and by God he would survive this even if it killed him.

On and on and on. Soon the noise of traffic and the glaring lights of the city left him, until he was enveloped by the velvety darkness of the wilderness. He could still hear them, the bastards. He could easily imagine them with their nostrils flared at the trail of blood he was leaving, they were nothing but animals. Hell so was he, but he was quicker.

On and on and on. His legs were going numb now, criss-crossed with blood as he flew through the wilderness, a forest now to cover his silhouette. He pushed his body through the trees and low branches, stumbling over roots, was that his ankle that twisted? He didn't know but it would be a small price to pay as long as he got away.

On and on and on. The trees were thinning now, and the soft light of the moon spilled down onto his skin, making the sweat and quivering muscles gleam. He was one with nature now, a pale ghost running from the hounds of Hell. Running, running, running.

On and on and on. He had nearly left the forest behind him and with it the sound of pursuit. He didn't stop though, he needed as much distance as he could get away from them, from him. So he kept moving, past the point of exhaustion, past the point of no return. He was so close now, so close.

On and on. A wall was now before him, a towering structure of brick and stone. It mocked his efforts but he hadn't come this far only to be stopped. He went faster, and faster. He jumped. Halfway up the wall he scrambled for a hold, anything, only to find loose stones. He began to slip, but there! A hold! Inch by inch, he clawed up the wall, soft whimpers escaping from the man.

On and on. Slowly, painfully he hooked his arm at the top of the wall and hauled his broken body over to the other side, only to slip and plummet to the ground. THUD! He made no sound at the impact save for a small grunt, and then he tried and failed to pick himself up. Once more, again. He was off again.

On and on. There was a light in the distance, beckoning him, holding out its arms for him. He took a chance and ran for it knowing that his body would soon give up the painful battle. But not yet.

On…. He reached a gravel path surrounded by trees, Sakura he thought, but he couldn't tell for sure. He followed the path down, not knowing the destination, but at that point it didn't really matter.

On…. A house was in front of him. No, scratch that, a mansion. The path was twisting now around a pond of some sort and soon he stood in front of an imposing set of double doors. Shaking where he stood he slowly reached out to the bell, but he never reached it.

There, on the front step of the mansion lay a crumpled heap.

Grimmjow had finally collapsed.

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><p>AN: Well there you go... I have Chapter 1 already written so if people like this then I'll update more quickly but if not I'll wait until I've started on Chapter 2...


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: You won't believe how busy I've been recently! (hence taking so long to update) Hopefully Chapter 1 makes up for that- Enjoy!

Warnings- I have absolutely no clue about medicine etc. so the treatment/ injuries are **made up**- if you think they're totally wrong then just send me a message :), oh and possible oocness

Disclaimer- Bleach is not mine, and sadly neither is Tanaka- I borrowed the idea of him from Kuroshitsuji

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

The Kuchiki household rose with the sun, and Byakuya was no exception. Once awake, he would stretch and then walk over to his bathroom. From there he would first brush his teeth, wash is face in cold water and then follow with a quick, invigorating shower. Walking back into the room he would dress himself in the robes that he had picked out the night before, and then painstakingly put in the kenseikan.

Once satisfied with his appearance he would slowly make his way down to the morning room in the conservatory, nodding at anybody who he met along the way. In the room he would sit himself down in the high back chair closest to the window overlooking the extensive gardens, indeed he could not see the end of them, and then begin to read the newspaper that had been laid out for him.

His routine may as well have been written in stone, for he had done exactly as above for 15 years, ever since he had become master of the Kuchiki household.

However, that was about to change. Tanaka cleared his throat. Byakuya's eyes twitched almost imperceptibly at the small noise and the distraction from a rather engaging report. Tanaka never stayed after he had brought breakfast and it was fast becoming annoying. His butler cleared his throat again with more conviction.

Folding the newspaper and placing it on the table Byakuya turned to face the aging man. "Is everything alright Tanaka?"

The butler straightened his back and looked him in the eye. "There has been a sudden...development that will need your attention Kuchiki-sama." He looked almost nervous then.

Raising his eyebrow a fraction Byakuya motioned for the man to continue. "It may be best if you see for yourself, if that suits you?" Nodding his assent the raven-haired man rose to join the other man who then started to lead him down to the guest wing.

They walked in silence that was neither comfortable nor stifling, just silence. Living in a large house had taught Byakuya the strength of silence, and he had turned it into an art form. When he was silent you could lose Byakuya in an empty room.

As they walked through into the wing faint noises could be heard. As they got closer Byakuya realised that it was someone speaking and soon identified them as his family doctor and her assistant. He frowned, but only barely. Doctors, in his opinion, never meant good news.

Stopping outside the door from where the conversation was emanating from, the young master turned to the butler who appeared to be trying extremely hard to not fidget. Byakuya watched emotionlessly as he knocked gently on the door. A "Come in." was heard.

Tanaka offered the other man a small smile before his gloved hand gripped the handle to allow them to enter.

The room itself was a moderate affair in pale creams and wood furnishings and, if it was ever to be used, it would be for inconsequential visitors or anybody that Byakuya did not feel the need to impress. However the man currently lying on the bed certainly did not fit those requirements, in fact the raven-haired man had never seen him before in his life and if he had he would have never put him in this room, he clashed with the decor.

From his position from the doorway the first thing he had noticed was a shock of blue hair strewn across the pillow in deep waves. It may not have been a natural colour, Byakuya mused, but you couldn't get that sort of vibrancy out of a bottle. Not for any price.

Still looking at the man's hair, he began to notice that it was matted in some places and in others it had gone a strange purple colour. _Hmmm. _Letting his eyes wander across the man's body, Byakuya couldn't help but show how surprised and shocked he was, despite his normal rigid composure.

Byakuya closed the distance between himself and the bed and stared down at the stranger. _How on earth he got here I don't know but he looks as though he's been to hell and back. _And he did. What once was a sculpted, muscled physique was now deep black bruises, rugged cuts and layers upon layers of gauze and bandages. The bed sheets surrounding the other man were sprinkled with blood, and on a quick inspection of the room revealed other, blood-soaked sheets. The worst however had been left to his face.

Framed by damp blue locks the stranger's face was ashen and taut, falling into a pained grimace although undoubtedly drugged into oblivion. Then, making the other cuts pale in comparison, was a jagged scar on the man's left side jam line, making it look as though he had teeth on the outside. Had the man been awake he would have made a fearsome sight but as it was he just looked small and helpless.

Turning to the other occupant's in the room once he had finished ignoring them, he once again raised an eyebrow in question.

His butler finally caved and started to scratch his head. "Well, this morning I was doing my usual rounds when I spotted a... lump outside the front door from a window. I decided to investigate and I found, well, I found _him."_ Tanaka loosely gestured at the injured man. "I saw he was in a bad way so I took it upon myself to call Doctor Unohana here," Byakuya nodded in her direction in greeting, "as I didn't want to disrupt you. I waited to tell you at breakfast and the rest you know."

Tilting his head to the side in thought the young master asked, "What do you know about him?"

"Nothing I'm afraid." The butler sighed.

"No I.D?"

"Nothing, sir."

_Must be nervous to call me _sir. Allowing the older man a glimpse of a gentle smile he said, "You did well Tanaka." He then turned to the ladies in the room and addressed a rather burning question to his doctor, "Just how extensive are his injuries?"

Dr. Unohana sighed. "Quite bad but nothing life threatening at the moment. He has a broken right arm; he had dislocated his shoulder, bruised ribs, twisted ankles and severe lacerations. I checked and I believe he does not have concussion. I must say he's quite a sturdy young man but I've kept him sedated for as long as I could without taking him to hospital."

Her eyes hardened as she looked at Byakuya. "You are going to have to wake him up every three hours for the next two days once he wakes up to check his pain levels, and his bandages will need to be changed twice a day as well as the gauze. If you're going to move him though you best do it now before the drugs wear off. I'll leave some painkillers that he can take every two hours, and plenty of bandages etc. but if it gets too much for him just contact me. Really though I think he just needs a good rest."

Byakuya nodded as he made a mental list. "I'll get a maid straight onto it."

The doctor shook her head sharply. "No. I want you to do it." She began to pack up her things.

He just gave her an incredulous look. "Why?"

As she and her assistant reached the door, she gave him an enigmatic smile and said, "It'll do you good."

Trying hard not to gape he turned to his back to Tanaka. "Well then you best move him to the adjacent bedroom in my suite." He sighed as his butler didn't even have the decency not to look shocked.

"You mean _you are _going to do it?"

This time Byakuya let himself fully frown. "Of course! You just don't ignore Dr. Unohana. Believe me, I learnt that the hard way."

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><p>It was just after they had moved him when the injured man first regained consciousness. Byakuya was sitting next to the bed reading the newspaper from the morning, and was alerted by soft moans and whimpers coming from the other man.<p>

Folding his newspaper he rose and carried a small tray over to the bed, only to nearly drop it once he had got there. Despite the pain and haziness the man below him must be feeling, the man's eyes had remained strikingly beautiful, deep cyan pools surrounded by long dark eyelashes. It took all of his restraint not to reach out and instead placed down the tray away from his trembling hands.

"Hello?" He only received a low moan in response. Taking the drugs on the tray, he let them dissolve into the water in the cup that he also had with him. Satisfied with it he lifted the cup near to the other man's mouth and gently put the straw on his cracked lips.

In a tone reserved for orders he said, "Drink."

The man drank. He tried to stop several times but Byakuya made him finish the lot- it would help with the pain and stop dehydration. As soon as this was finished however the teal-haired man fell straight back to sleep, or rather fell unconscious again.

Byakuya then set his alarm to ring every three hours and did exactly as he did the first time, minus the shock and it was actually him waking the other up.

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><p>With evening bordering on night, the young master decided to change dressings on the man's wounds before he tried to get some sleep. However, while he had been content to wake the man up on his own he knew that he would need help with this. Knowing he had no choice he turned to Nel.<p>

The voluptuous maid had come to his house a few years ago and had proven to be a green-haired monster that played the cute act. Despite this she was excellent at her job and could even cover as a bodyguard if needed. Though he was reluctant to admit, the woman's constant nagging had finally gotten to him and they became friends, in a way, and so he had begun to rely on her when he needed to.

Flipping the control panel within the room open, he quickly sent out a message to the maid requesting her presence in his suite- to help with the injured man. He has added the last part just in case some of the older maids got any ideas and that was something to be avoided at all costs.

While he waited for Nel he unrolled the bandages and put them in neat rows on the dresser within the stranger's room. Once satisfied that they were straight he began to pace the bedroom as he had nothing else to do.

"Heh and here I thought you never got bored _Bya-kun_!" With a start Byakuya turned with wide eyes to the only person on Earth who would dare to call him by that ridiculous pet name.

"And here I thought that you had given up on sneaking around doorways." He retorted once he had gotten over the shock.

Nel pouted as she replied,

"It was only that one time! Are you never going to let it go?"

Byakuya sent an icy glare to the woman who stared back unflinchingly. "I was in the_ shower."_

"Not my fault you didn't hear me knock."

"So that gave you the right to just walk in?"

"It wasn't like I was gonna jump you or anything... Besides we both know" Just before she could finish the sentence the sleeping man gave a grunt, stopping short the well rehearsed argument. Nel sighed. "What did you want anyway?"

Byakuya mirrored her sigh and pointed to the perfectly straight bandages and stacks of gauze. "I need you to help me change his dressings."

Knowing better than to demand the magic word, the maid merely nodded and grabbed some of the bandages, ignoring the look of dismay on the raven-haired man's face at the mess. "Best get to work then."

They soon set to removing the old wrappings carefully from the man's body once they had gotten him into a sitting position, Byakuya focusing on the front with Nel at the back. They worked with relative peace as they unwound the bandages that were caked with old blood the closer they got to the skin.

After a few minutes though Nel let out a soft, anguished gasp as her face went as white as the new bandages. Sensing her rising distress Byakuya laid a soft arm on her shoulder as he waited for her to speak.

Softly, without looking at him, she said, "You need to see this."

Troubled by his maid's reaction but nonetheless curious, he got up from his position and walked round to the other side of the bed next to Nel. With a shaking finger she pointed to the man's lower back but she didn't have to, Byakuya had already seen it.

There, on the right hand side of the man's lower back was a large gothic-styled 6.

"Is that...?" He trailed off not knowing how to finish the question.

"Yeah." Nel replied softly.

Byakuya frowned. "If it is why is he _here_? In the state that he is?"

The green-haired woman shook her head. "I don't know but whatever it is it won't be good." She turned to him with beseeching eyes. "He's got to go the minute he's healed, he could be dangerous."

Byakuya only lifted an eyebrow at her, a movement that he seemed to be doing a lot of recently. Knowing the reason behind it Nel grimaced and then turned her attention back to the injured man.

"I suppose we best finish this off then." She lifted up a piece of gauze. Byakuya shot her a kind smile and went back to his previous position. As they finished the job they worked again in silence, but this time it was a heavy, sad silence.

At last they were finished and Byakuya laid the man back down gently and then the two left the room. He then turned to Nel.

"Can I get you anything? A drink perhaps?" He said gently but Nel just shook her head.

"I only need sleep. I'll be fine in the morning." She sent him a weak smile.

Byakuya frowned. "I was going to ask you to help me again in the morning, but I can always get somebody else if you would prefer that."

The woman's smile turned bright at the kind gesture. "That's sweet of you but I'd rather it be me than anybody else, you know?" He nodded to show that in fact he did know. "I suppose I'll see you in the morning then _Bya-kun._" With that she skipped out of the door with a laugh before Byakuya could even get angry.

Chuckling softly to himself he made to get some sleep himself, only to be woken two hours later by the alarm. _This is going to be a long few days. _

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><p>Two days in and Byakuya was beginning to crack. He had never once been denied the luxury of sleep before in his life and its effects were beginning to show as his stoic mask crumbled. He was at a loss at what to with himself when he wasn't tending to the man, his routine was in pieces.<p>

_At least everyone makes sure I eat three meals a day. _Not knowing what else to do he picked a book at random from the library and then made his way back to his suite. For some reason he had taken to reading while sitting next to the bed with the injured man and found a sort of peace there. It certainly made waking him a lot easier being close at hand anyway.

Sighing to himself as he walked through the corridors, Byakuya entered his suite once he had reached it and walked straight into the stranger's room. The book fell to the floor with a soft thud, cushioned by the carpet, as Byakuya's wide, grey eyes were met with an empty bed.

Snapping his mouth shut, he quickly scanned the room and soon found the injured man. He was there, but he was hanging halfway out of the window, desperately pushing himself out.

It was the third floor.

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><p>AN: Review please! It makes me happy :)


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for everyone's reviews and thanks to **Nameless **for pointing out the typo but I've left it in just for you :) I apologise for the late update and the short length of this chapter but I'm struggling with this one... so if you're reading this and want to help or get involved plaese PM me! It would mean a lot :)

Warning: Not much 'cept for Grimm's potty mouth but I'm sure you'd expect that...

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own bleach

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Byakuya snapped. How _dare, DARE,_ this man try and kill himself after Byakuya had gone to great lengths to help him, how dare he do it from the window of _his _suite, _his _home? His routine lay in tatters and his head had barely hit the pillow, and now this stranger thinks that he can cause him more trouble! _We'll see about _that.

In two long, stomping strides the raven-haired man reached the struggling man.

"You." He grabbed him and in a bout of surprising strength, dragged him away from the window.

"Aren't." He dodged the weak swing of the injured man who was desperately struggling to get away from him.

"Going." Locking the man's wrists together, Byakuya forced the other man to step back until his knees hit the side of the bed.

"Anywhere." Using the man's weak state to his advantage, the livid raven-haired man pushed the other onto the middle of the bed, and when he was met with resistance he threw himself on top of stranger.

"Oomph... Arghh God that hurts! Get the fuck off me!" He desperately tried to buck the other man off, but it only aggravated his wounds more, so instead he sent a glare in the man's direction while he lay below him, panting from the effort.

Byakuya snorted. "This would be a lot easier if you just calmed down." He batted away the hands that tried to claw at his face and sighed as he held the wrists above the other's head. "Less painful too." He sent a meaningful glance at the bandages.

The other man followed his gaze and grew wide-eyed when he saw that he had basically been mummified. "Holy shit. How the hell..." He trailed off as he stared at his body.

Byakuya frowned in thought. "I'm amazed that you can talk with no problem. Doesn't it hurt?"

"What the fuck are ya going on about?"

_So he doesn't know about his jaw. _"Well, you have been sleeping for the past three days, there or there about. I thought that your throat would be sore, but I suppose I did make you drink."

The blue-haired man looked on in suspicion but decided against saying anything while the man on top of him was deep in thought. Byakuya gave himself a small shake as he hit a dead end with his thoughts.

_First things first. _"What's your name?"

The other was quiet for a moment, deliberating between the truth or an easy lie.

"Grimmjow."

"Just Grimmjow?" _The truth but not the whole truth hmm?_

"Yeah, how 'bout you?"

Just as he was about to answer he was interrupted by an angry outburst.

"Fucking great! Now you said that my throat feels like it's on fire. You," He broke off in a violent coughing fit, his chest heaving madly. Concerned, Byakuya placed his forehead on the stranger's, no _Grimmjow's _own forehead to check for signs of a fever, after all it wouldn't hurt to check.

A giggle sounded from behind them. "Should I come back later?"

Byakuya could have sworn that he felt her smirk boring into his back and ever so slowly turned to look at his maid who was currently lounging in the doorway looking for all the world at ease with the situation. Below him Grimmjow struggled to locate the source of the voice and to understand what it had said.

As teal eyes met hazel Grimmjow gave a long growl, forgetting for a moment how sore his throat was. "Che. What the fuck did ya mean by that, woman?"

Nel's smirk turned into a meek innocent smile and Byakuya knew then that they were in big trouble.

"Why, Blue, don't you even know what position you're in at the moment? At the mercy of the man who has you pinned onto the bed?" Teal eyes grew impossibly large as he took in her words and the position she had so accurately described. Tilting his head up to look at the man above him he gave a slight cough and scowled.

"Get. Off. Me. And a drink while you're at it." Byakuya frowned at Grimmjow at the forceful words but inwardly he was chuckling at the tell tale signs of a blush on the other man's cheeks. Disentangling himself the young master walked calmly over to the door, and turned to the face the pair just before he left.

"Nel."

"Hai?"

"Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless while I'm gone." Then as an afterthought he added, "And behave yourself." Byakuya then swept gracefully out of the room, leaving Nel to pout at his retreating figure and wondering who was exactly supposed to behave themselves.

Deciding it didn't matter she plastered a sickly sweet smile onto her face and then skipped up to the invalid and peered down at him from where he was on the bed. Cocking her head to the side in thought she absentmindedly walked over to the window to shut out the rather chilly breeze, and heard a small huff of irritation behind her.

"Where the fuck am I anyway? And who the hell are you people?"

Walking over to Blue, her new nickname for the man, she answered, "You are currently in the master suite on the Kuchiki estate and," BANG! The headboard struggled to hold under the force of Nel's fist. "it does not matter one fucking bit who we are. What matters is who you are, and I know _exactly what you are. _So two tips Blue, lose the attitude and heal quietly before trouble heads this way. It's that or I make this," She stroked his jaw. "look like child's play. Understand Blue?"

Knowing that he had no other choice with the state that he was in, Grimmjow nodded to the woman, his mouth dry more with fear than anything else. Pleased with the response Nel straightened up and beamed at him,

"Good kitty!" She cooed.

"I'M NOT A FU"

"Hmph!" At the loud noise of displeasure the two turned to the door to see that Byakuya had returned, glass of water in hand and uncommonly sporting a large frown. Grimmjow trailed off into silence and Nel smiled inside at the fact that someone could actually break her employer and friend's mask, but wept at the choice. She turned to Byakuya.

"Back already are we?"

"Trying to bring down the house by shouting are we?" Grimmjow flinched despite himself at the cold tone but the maid merely laughed in delight. Sighing to himself the young master headed towards the other man and gently cupped the back of Grimmjow's head, ignoring Nel's cat calls and the man's protests. Carefully he brought the glass to lie softly along Grimmjow's lips, avoiding the broken skin close to his jaw. Looking straight into the piercing blue gaze of the other he commanded,

"Drink." And Grimmjow did.

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><p>The following days were a blessing compared to the strain of the first few days of Grimmjow's arrival, and Byakuya found himself catching up on much missed sleep.<p>

The blue haired man had taken on the task of changing his own bandages himself, claiming that he had done it enough times to know what he was doing and besides who wants strangers, even if they had saved them, to see their bare body? No. He would do it himself.

The man was also turning out to be very determined and strong-minded, every day he would force himself a little farther down the corridors, trying to rebuild his strength. He was never left alone on these trips though, with Nel's watchful eyes trained on him at all time.

So all that was left for Byakuya to do was finish the mountains of paperwork that continually clogged his office and to show Grimmjow that a busy man such as himself could not always be on hand to attend to the recovering man's demands. It was, however, after the third maid was sent away sobbing that the young master cracked slightly and allowed Grimmjow to stay in the study with him, despite the man's constant efforts to distract him.

Speaking of distractions, "Oi, 'Kuya!" The young master felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation as he continued to scan the document in front of him.

"My name is Byakuya, Grimmjow." The blue haired man only grinned at him.

"Yeh, yeh. Anywayyy, what is it that ya actually do? I mean I get that you're a noble and all that shit, but you have a job don't ya? But hell, why would ya want one when ya have enough money?"

Picking up the next sheet that needed his attention Byakuya took a moment to formulate an answer.

"I certainly have enough money but by having a job I actually have something productive to do, rather than spending my days wallowing in my wealth and social functions. As for the job I work for Seireitei as a manager of Squad Six. As a whole we offer services similar to the police but without the trappings of having the government as a boss."

"So basically you work to uphold the law?"

"And to apprehend criminals yes."

Grimmjow was silent after that.

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><p>AN: Hope you enjoyed it and a reminder that I'm looking for help!


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